An Examination into and an Elucidation of the Great Principle of the Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

by John Taylor.

"Wherefore the fruit of thy loins shall write, and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions."--Gen., 1, 31, Inspired Translation.

"For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them: for out of the books which shall be written, I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according that which is written. For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth, and they shall write it. And it shall come to pa.s.s that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews. And it shall come to pa.s.s that my people which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one."--2 Nephi, xxix, 11-14.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

DESERET NEWS COMPANY, PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS,

1882.

THE MEDIATION AND ATONEMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory--Christ's Testimony with regard to His Sufferings-- Christ came to do the Will of His Father--The Testimony of the Father at His Baptism and Transfiguration.

In the last chapter of St. Luke's Gospel is to be found a deeply interesting account of several events that took place on the day that the Redeemer was resurrected. Amongst other incidents, he relates that on that day two of the disciples took a melancholy journey from Jerusalem to the neighboring village of Emmaus. Whilst they walked, the sadness of their hearts found expression on their tongues, and they mournfully rehea.r.s.ed to each other the story of the crucifixion of their Master. By and by, they were joined by an apparent stranger, who, though none other than the resurrected Savior, was not recognized by them. In answer to His inquiries, they repeated the sad history of the days just pa.s.sed, and expressed the disappointment that His death had brought, for they trusted that it had been He who should have redeemed Israel. Then Jesus said unto them, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself."--Luke, xxiv, 25-27.

When they reached Emmaus, with characteristic eastern hospitality, they constrained the stranger to abide with them. He consented, and as they sat at meat He took bread, and blessed it, brake and gave unto them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him, and He vanished out of their sight. "And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you."

After the Savior had convinced the disciples then present of His ident.i.ty, and had partaken of some broiled fish and an honey comb, He said unto them, "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things."

One great and very striking statement is here made by the Lord Himself, to the effect that it behooved Christ to suffer, and the question at once presents itself before us, why did it behoove Him? Or why was it necessary that He should suffer? For it would seem from His language, through His sufferings, death, atonement and resurrection, "that repentance and remission of sins" could be preached among all nations, and that consequently if He had not atoned for the sins of the world, repentance and remission of sins could not have been preached to the nations.

A very important principle is here enunciated, one in which the interests of the whole human family throughout all the world are involved. That principle is the offering up of the Son of G.o.d, as a sacrifice, an atonement and a propitiation for our sins. Jesus said, He came not to do His will, but the will of His Father, who sent Him.

He came, as we are told, to take away sin by the sacrifice of Himself; and not only did He come, but He came in accordance with certain preconceived ideas that had been entertained and testified of by Prophets and men of G.o.d in all preceding ages, or from the days of Adam to the days of John the Baptist, the latter being His precursor or forerunner, who indeed, when he saw Him coming, made the declaration, Behold the Lamb of G.o.d, who taketh away the sin of the world. At His baptism the Spirit of G.o.d bore witness to this testimony and descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, or, rather, the form of a dove was the sign of the Holy Spirit; whilst a voice was heard from heaven proclaiming: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

This manifestation of G.o.d's acknowledgment of His beloved Son was spoken of by personal witnesses who bore record to the facts.

Matthew testifies: "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of G.o.d descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."--Matthew, iii, 13-17.

Whilst Mark relates, "And it came to pa.s.s in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."--Mark, i, 9-11.

And John, in his Gospel, states that John the Baptist bare record, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record, that this is the Son of G.o.d."--John, i, 32-34.

We have this great truth of the open recognition of Jesus, by His Father, as His beloved Son, again enunciated when the three Apostles, Peter, James and John, were on the Mount, and Jesus was transfigured before them. It is declared that "a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."--Matthew, xvii, 5.

The Son, thus openly acknowledged, came not to earth to do His own will, but the will of His Father. The will of the Father appears to have been that the Son should suffer, for He, Himself, prayed: "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pa.s.s from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew, xxvi, 39.) Or, as the New Translation by the Prophet Joseph Smith has it, "O my Father, if this cup may not pa.s.s away from me except I drink it, thy will be done."

The Father did not let it pa.s.s from Him; He therefore drank it, and finally, on the cross He said, "It is finished," and bowed His head and gave up the Ghost.

In regard to this Jesus Himself testifies. First to the Nephites: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the Prophets testified shall come into the world; and behold, I am the light and life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning."--iii Nephi, xi, 10, 11.

And again, in this dispensation, He bears witness: "For behold, I, G.o.d, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even G.o.d, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit: and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink, nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."--Doc. and Cov., xix, 16-19, page 118.

The saying of our Savior, to which we have already alluded, "Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer," is a very important one, and it would seem to be necessary, in the consideration of our subject, for us to obtain, from the writings of the servants of G.o.d that we have, an understanding what these statements were; how extensively they were corroborated by the sacred records; and what is said with regard to the necessity of Christ's sufferings thus referred to: and, furthermore, we may notice the reason why they should be thus necessary.

In making this examination, we will first quote from the writings of the Old and New Testaments, and, although we are informed by later revelations that "many parts which are plain and most precious" have been taken away therefrom, yet there is a large amount of testimony left in this valuable and sacred record, which plainly exhibits that the principle of the atonement was fully understood by the Prophets in former ages.

CHAPTER II.

The Testimony of Jesus the Spirit of Prophecy--The Declarations of the Ancient Servants of G.o.d--Extracts from the Writings and Testimonies of Moses, Job, David, Isaiah, Zechariah, Micah and Hosea, to be found in the Old Testament, with remarks.

In the chapter of Luke's Gospel, to which we have already referred, speaking of Jesus, it is written, "Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."

If this be taken in the fullest sense, and we know of no reason why it should not thus be received, there is a great principle developed, which is, that not only Moses, but all the Prophets, testified concerning the coming Redeemer. As elsewhere stated, this must have been the case, for we are told that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy;" and this being admitted, how could they have the spirit of prophecy, or be Prophets without having the testimony of Jesus? And we are told further that the Prophets sought "what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow."--1 Peter, i, 11.

These scriptures evidently show that the testimony of Jesus was the very principle, essence and power of the spirit of prophecy whereby they were inspired.

We find a great many statements corroborative of these facts in those portions of the writings and prophecies of the ancient servants of G.o.d, that have been handed down to us in the Old Testament, and from these testimonies we select a few to show how various and how detailed have been the inspired utterances regarding the life and death of the Messiah.

"The Lord thy G.o.d will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, [Moses,] unto him ye shall hearken. * * * And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pa.s.s, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."--Deut., xviii, 15, 17-19.

"For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see G.o.d: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."--Job, xix, 25-27.

"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."--Psalm ii, 1-12.

While the first portion of the above psalm refers to the Anointed of the Lord, and matters that would take place at His first appearing, still many of the things, therein mentioned, have not yet transpired.

The same may be said of the following pa.s.sages from Zechariah, which speak of His being pierced and of His rejection by the Jews as a thing accomplished, when at that time these events had not taken place. But it does prove that His people would reject and pierce Him, and that afterwards when He should come as their deliverer (like Joseph, whom his brethren sold, appeared as their deliverer in Egypt), they should look upon Him whom they had pierced.

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first born."--Zech., xii, 10.

"And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thy hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends."--Zech., xiii, 6.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty G.o.d, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."--Isaiah, ix, 6, 7.

"Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and beat a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."--Isaiah, vii, 14.

"The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."--Psalm cx, 1-4.

"Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore G.o.d, thy G.o.d, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."--Psalm xlv, 7.